The coronavirus shutdown continues to cause major disruptions to the NBA calendar. The league now has decided to postpone both the Draft Lottery and Combine, which were both scheduled for later in May, and the NBA Draft in June could be next to be moved.
Speaking of moves, the NBA is also in talks on the possibility of pushing back the start of next season to December.
Meanwhile, the league continues to explore its options about the potential restart of the season, but there are still significant challenges to overcome.
As always, SBOBET takes a look at all of the biggest NBA 2020 news that’s gone down of late amid the league’s shutdown.
NBA Draft Lottery, Combine postponed
The NBA has announced that the NBA Draft Lottery and the Draft Combine have been postponed indefinitely amid the coronavirus pandemic shutdown.
“More information on each event will be shared at a later date,” the NBA said in a statement. It will continue “to closely monitor the coronavirus pandemic and consult with infectious disease specialists, public health experts and government officials.”
The Draft Lottery was scheduled for May 19 in Chicago, while the Draft Combine was set for May 19-24.
The 2020 NBA Draft is still scheduled for June 25, but while the league held off on postponing that as well, NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski’s sources around the league expect it’s just a matter of time before it’s also moved back.
It would have been possible to hold the Draft Lottery remotely, but since there’s still the possibility of the regular season resuming and the final standings changing, it made sense for the league to push it back to a later date.
This upcoming draft is widely considered to be one of the weaker ones in recent years in terms of top-level talent. While there are still a handful of players with star potential, none of them figures to be a surefire superstar.
NBA discuss delaying start of 2020-21 season
With the coronavirus causing major disruptions to the NBA season that have led to the postponement of the Draft Lottery and Combine, the league is in talks on making more significant changes to its calendar.
Commissioner Adam Silver and the NBA board of governors have discussed delaying the start of the 2020-21 season until December. However, there is no decision expected in the near future.
The proposed plan would see the season start before Christmas and extend into late July or early August. The NBA draft and free agency would follow the end of the season.
If this season does resume as planned, then it would likely end in September or October. At that point, delaying the following season seems inevitable.
The NBA’s rationale for delaying the season is to buy more time and increase the possibility of having fans back into the arenas.
But as one member of the board of governors accurately pointed out, there is no guarantee fans would be willing to watch live in NBA stadiums by December. It could still take some time before they are comfortable to attend such a large public gathering again after the pandemic.
Las Vegas, Disney World possible sites for NBA restart
A popular plan for the NBA to resume play involves having the entire league grouped together in a single city while under quarantine.
MGM Resorts has reportedly sent out a proposal to the NBA for how it could finish its season in Las Vegas.
The plan involves the players, along with their families, living in the resort complex to keep them away from the general public.
Disney World in Orlando, Florida has also been touted as a potential site for the league playing out the rest of the season.
The NBA has targeted May 8 as the earliest date to allow limited workouts for teams in select cities. But there is no target date yet to restart the season.
Aside from the venue, mass testing is also a big challenge for the league. The NBA has recently told teams not to test players and staff who are showing no symptoms of the coronavirus.
This is in response to the criticism the league received when teams were able to get tested even though they were tough to get elsewhere.
It should go without saying that testing is essential if the NBA is to restart play. Wojnarowski reports that the league will need around 15,000 tests, although that number could potentially be much higher.
If the NBA is unable to acquire sufficient tests without public backlash, the NBA 2020 odds for the season to restart will take a massive hit.
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